Shifting winds are dispersing wildfire smoke that has blanketed the Bay Area since Wednesday and prompted warnings from air quality officials.
The two large fires burning in Northern California, including one more than 200 miles from San Francisco, cast an eerie pall over the Bay Area this morning, making the sunrise appear red. This afternoon, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District urged residents in five counties - Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Santa Clara - to minimize outdoor exposure, saying monitoring stations were detecting elevated levels of particulates in the air.
By mid-afternoon, however, the levels were dropping, said Karen Schkolnick, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Between noon and 1 p.m., for example, the levels in San Jose plummeted by half.
Weather forecasters said winds that had been blowing from the northeast, pushing smoke into the Bay Area from the 24,300-acre Moonlight Fire in Plumas County, were shifting. By Friday, said National Weather Service forecaster Brian Tentinger, the region will see even less smoke because of an onshore flow.
"It looks like it's dispersed quite a bit - it's not as widespread as it was earlier this morning," Tentinger said.
South Bay residents have also been seeing smoke from the Lick Fire, an 18,900-acre blaze east of Morgan Hill in Henry W. Coe State Park.
Despite the improved air quality, officials warned that conditions can change quickly.
"The best thing to know is if you can smell smoke, you have the potential to be exposed and should minimize your contact," Schkolnick said.
She suggested that people keep windows and doors shut today and turn off ventilation systems. Young people and the elderly should be especially careful with outdoor activity, as should those with pulmonary conditions, Schkolnick said.
People near Gilroy and Morgan Hill need to exercise extra caution because of their proximity to the Lick Fire, Schkolnick said.
"If you can smell smoke, if your throat is irritated, you should use your best judgment and take precautions," she said.
The haze may not be great for one's health, but it did create a beautiful show for Bay Area residents who were up early enough. Dennis Perfetto, who lives near the Golden Gate Park Panhandle in San Francisco, said he was stunned by the red and orange sky this morning.
"It was absolutely beautiful, spectacular," he said. "It looked like in Hawaii, on the Big Island, when the volcano kicks up."
The Moonlight Fire in Plumas County began Monday in the Moonlight Valley and is only 8 percent contained. The cause of the fire is unknown, and officials have no estimate for when it will be contained.
The blaze has forced the evacuation of 500 homes around the town of Greenville, though the fire is mainly burning in rugged, rural terrain.
"It fanned out to a huge number of acres in a short amount of time," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It's really actively burning in heavy timber, and there are a lot of homes in that area."
Firefighters are also battling heat and low humidity in Santa Clara County, where about 1,750 people are fighting the Lick Fire. Officials said Wednesday that the blaze, which is 25 percent contained, was caused by an illegal debris burn. It was first spotted Monday from the Lick Observatory, hence its name.
Smoke from the fire grounded air support for most of the day, said Berlant, but officials were hoping to send up some planes or helicopters in the late afternoon as the visibility increases. The smoky conditions have also kept crews from setting backfires today, but Berlant said firefighters were nevertheless "making really good progress."
Crews are building 19 miles of fire lines around the blaze, and have focused most of their efforts today on the western flank, which is closest to residential areas, Berlant said. Twenty-five residences and 10 outbuildings remain in danger, as well as the state park's visitor center and several campgrounds.
Temperatures near Morgan Hill are expected to peak today in the low 90s and then drop off a bit Friday into the mid-80s.
